trust that you will have experienced no inconvenience from the delay of
this answer, which I assure you has been occasioned by my desire to
discover a mode by which I could continue united with my recent
colleagues.--I sincerely wish that I could bring my mind to the
conclusion that, with the best intentions on your part, your government
could be conducted practically on the principles of that of Lord
Liverpool; that it would be generally so considered; or that it would be
adequate to meet our difficulties, in a manner satisfactory to the king,
or conducive to the interests of the country. As, however, I am
convinced that these principles must be abandoned eventually, that all
our measures would be viewed with suspicion by the usual supporters of
the government; that I could do no good in the cabinet; and that at last
I should be obliged to separate myself from it, at the moment at which
such separation would be more inconvenient to the king's service than it
can be at present, I must beg you to request his majesty to excuse me
from belonging to his councils. Ever, my dear Mr. Canning, yours most
sincerely,

WELLINGTON.

This closed the correspondence; and it is needless to add that the Duke
continued to hold aloof from the new administration.

The Duke's explanation in the House of Lords related to two branches of
charge. The first was a charge of want of personal courtesy to Mr.
Canning, as exhibited in the foregoing correspondence; the second was a
general charge of hostility to the new premier, founded on personal
jealousy, and on every other ground, probable or improbable, which the
malice of party could suggest. The Duke began by observing, that the
House of Lords was scarcely the proper place to enter on such subjects,